A "short weekend project" to replace a AC compressor pulley's bearing snowballed quickly and took all day.
I got the coolant reservoir out of the way easily and unbolted the fan shroud. Everything was going great until I couldn't unhook this god-forsaken electrical connector on the fan shroud.
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Yes, it's as hard to access as it looks. On top of that, both the red tab and the black tab were missing. There was nothing to push on to release it! The dang thing stole 3 hours of my day. I didn't cut the wires because I didn't have a spare connector to splice in if I did, though I did think about it.
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I was finally able to follow the wires to the fan motor itself, unhook that other connector, and fish the rest back through the fan shroud. Once I had the evil connector in my hands I was able to figure out where the hangup was, and what I needed to pry on. I wish the mechanics who replaced my radiator last year when I was on a long trip had been more careful. I certainly didn't break those tabs off.
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Finally got the fan shroud off, and reinstalled the short section of wire going to the fan motor. With this out of the way, I was finally able to access the compressor pulley, which was what I was here for in the first place.
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This has been making noise for a while, so I figured the bearing was shot. I got a replacement bearing from the auto parts store and was ready to swap it in. Off came the serpentine belt, and then I removed the compressor clutch by unscrewing that central 8 mm bolt.
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This is what I found! Eeeeewwww. Looks like a gremlin had gotten tangled up in the serpentine belt. The bearing had a small amount of play, but it still turned fairly smoothly. I cleaned off enough fluorescent green crud to find and remove the snap ring.
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With the pulley off it did not look much better. I compared the bearing in the pulley to what I had bought, and while the exterior diameter was correct, the interior diameter of my new bearing was not. Oops. But this compressor needs to go to the junk pile, not get a new bearing. The green stuff is fluorescent dye mixed with R134-A refrigerant that had been slowly leaking from behind the pulley. The mud was probably clutch material mixed with the green goo. At least now I know where the slow leak in my AC system is.
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One last pic before I cleaned up what crud I could and reassembled everything. I put on a brand new Mopar tensioner and Mopar serpentine belt while I was in there. Might as well have something to show for my hard work today. The Jeep runs again at least, because it is back together. I have an appointment on Friday at my trusted mechanic to replace the AC compressor and basically check the AC system. And I plan to return the incorrect bearing to the auto parts store.
I will be looking into the steering column when I get home. Best case scenario, something loosened up.
